Opticians -V- doctors?

[SallyP]

I have been going to a "top"consultant for the last 18 months, who has basically looked at my eyes, said it's "dry eye" but I don't have the ususal damage associated with it, and put plugs in. Earlier today I went to my opticians, as since having the plugs put it, it felt as if there was something in my eyes, so I asked him to check if they were OK. He said it wasn't dry it is blepheritis, which he also suffered from, and described very similar symptoms. He said there were two types of blepheritis, and the one I have is particularly difficult to treat, but advised me of a completely new regime, which involves rfirstly a hot compress or eye bag, then gently scrub the eye lides with a cotton bud in salt or plain boiled (coooled down though) water, then a eyelip wipe, then water, then finally my drops. He said do this morning and night and I should see (!) an improvement. It was such a relief that he understood what I was going through and I'm a firm believer in fate, as I cancelled my appointment with the opticians yesterday, and made another one for today, so I was mean to see him...........I shall keep you posted anyway.

[Gretchen]

Dry Eye is a Symptom

Sally -

Dry eye is a symptom. I would be skeptical of any doctor that gave me a diagnosis of "dry eye" without telling me what condition is causing the eye to be dry. You need to understand if you are aqueous deficient, have evaporative issues due to obstructed or dysfunctional eyelid glands (referred to usually as meibomian glands or MGs), have chronic eyelid infection called blepharitis, a combination, or something else entirely. Any Doctor that tells you that you have "dry eye", in my opionion, is probably not going to be your best guide in this long and often frustrating journey. I would fight to find a really good eye doctor that gives you the right answers and offers a multi-step, multi-approach plan. And most importantly, you need to do a lot of your own homework so that you can ask the right questions to prompt the answers that you need.

I think that you live in the UK and understand that NHS can be a challenge. I would really recommend that you begin to look on the Europe board and "plug a doc" area of this site to find a good dry eye doctor in the UK. Getting a diagnosis is a crucial first step to getting relief.

I hope that this helps.
Gretchen

[SallyP]

Thank you so much for your reply. That makes sense. My consultant said he didn't know what was causing it, but ruled several things out, and said he didn't know what had caused it, but could be hormonal or environmental?? However, I susepect from "hormonal", he meant menopausal, which I am definitely not. I did have an overactive thyroid, so had most of it removed 8 year ago. It is now within the normal range, and I don't even have to have thyroxin, but he said he doubted it was that. I am in the UK, and I think, for all of it's good points, you definitely have to push for what you want, and the British don't like upsetting anybody, and I always sit there nodding, but I'm going to persist. Thank you again.

[eva b]

Sally,

I'm also UK based, and have seen countless eye docs, with no more helpful diagnosis than you received.

I regularly see my local optometrist, who has explained to me that I suffer from meibomian gland dysfunction, which means they don't produce enough oils, or it's too thick and they get blocked. The cause is inflammation - the blpehparitis your optician refers to - only problem is no-one has been able to tell me what causes this inflammation.

I follow a very similar regime to you, and my chap also manually expresses my glands very regularly to keep them unblocked. (not pleasant - but effective)

Your guy sounds like he knows what he's talking about, so I would stick with him and his advice.

All you have to do now is try to find out what is causing the original inflammation...best of luck!

I've been trying to figure out my own cause for over a year now - allergies to food, toiletries, cleaning products....still no further forward. But I keep on trying, and you must too

[SallyP]

Eva,


Thank you for that. Yes, he said the glands were blocked, and I actually felt for the first time that somebody knew what they were talking about and actually said it wasn't dry eye, so I will do some investigation, and will definitely stick to seeing him. I can't see the consultant for another 9 months anyway, for all the good it did anyway. Thank you again.

[christopheruk]

All you have to do now is try to find out what is causing the original inflammation...best of luck!

I've been trying to figure out my own cause for over a year now - allergies to food, toiletries, cleaning products....still no further forward. But I keep on trying, and you must too

Is blepharitis not a disease as in you get it once from something and then it has to be treated regularly (as it never quite goes away)? Or is it a persistent condition caused by something that you could (in theory) remove such as exposure to dust mites and the bleph would go away? As a sufferer I would be interested in knowing this, thanks.

BTW I think mine was caused by old towels, which I do not use to clean the face with any more. Or perhaps the shower head getting dirty and then washing my hair. Also wiping the eyebrows after using the same cloth around the face. Like you I am trying to eliminate different possible causes.